This Probably Should be an Update

In the world of photography, there are flagship cameras and Flagship Cameras. The latter is something of a unicorn – a device so well made and thought out that it ultimately defines the company and has the potential to define the industry. The Canon EOS R1 (R1 from here on out) is clearly aiming at being company-defining, more than just a replacement of the Canon 1DX DSLR camera but a symbol of what Canon is capable on a technical and artistic level. But does it hit the mark?  

Additional reporting was done by Editor in Chief Chris Gampat.

The Big Picture: The Canon EOS R1

If Canon or any other camera company wants to tout its prowess in sports photography then at the bare minimum they need to be able to recognize people of all shades.

While it might seem harsh, the truth is that the R1 falls short of being a company-defining flagship. Sure, it has all the technical specs that one might consider to be part and parcel of what it means to be a flagship, but specs alone don’t mean that the camera delivers on its promises. While the camera certainly delivered on knocking wildlife, specifically birding, out of the park, the biggest gripes we’ve had with this camera and other Canon cameras is their inability to recognize people of color. This, along with the lowered megapixel count and price, is why we’re giving the Canon EOS R1 three out of five stars.

Still interested in picking up a Canon EOS R1 for yourself? Check out our Amazon link.

Pros

• Excellent battery life
• Canon still delivers incredibly pleasing colors
• Great for wildlife and birding
• The ability to blow up images in-camera is nice

Cons

• Autofocus struggles with people of color, even in decent lighting
• sonThe 24-megapixel sensor is a compromise when you consider this is going head-to-head with the Sony a1 II
• Large files to work with despite the reduction in resolution
• The price point leaves a lot to be desired

Innovations

By far, the biggest innovation in the Canon EOS R1 is the introduction of dual image processors – the DIGIC Accelerator and DIGIC X – working in tandem to handle the potential loads pro photographers may throw at it. From handling Eye-Control Autofocusing to its new Action Priority mode and an in-camera cropping feature that will up-sample images into 90-megapixel JPEGs.

But in the grand scheme of cameras, there is nothing majorly innovative about this.

Gear Used

We tested the Canon EOS R1 with the RF 35mm f1.4 L VCM, both of these were loaner units provided to us by Lensrentals. We also used the RF 24-105 F4 L IS USM, RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM, and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM, all on loan from Canon. Lastly, we used the Samyang RF 85mm F1.4, which we own.

Who is the Canon EOS R1 For?

The Canon EOS R1 is strictly for the pro photographer who’s been longing for a replacement for the EOS 1DX. From the molded vertical grip, long-lasting battery life, and improved autofocus capabilities, it is, on paper, a proper successor to the old DSLR workhorse. From our testing, if you’re using this camera for wildlife, specifically birding, you will find yourself well-pleased with the camera.

How Will This Make You a Better Photographer?

I’m not throwing shade here in the least, but this camera will make you a better photographer by teaching you to work around the limitations of the hardware. If you’re a complete novice in terms of birding and wildlife photography, like I am, the Canon EOS R1’s subject detection and fast autofocusing will allow you to nail more shots that even I’m comfortable admitting to. Yes, when photographing birds, dogs, and people in controlled environments, the camera will keep your subject sharp – you mainly have to worry about composition.

Hardware

The Canon EOS R1 is meant to be a workhorse camera body that should be at home whether that happens to be in the elements or a gym or a studio. And from my time using the R1, it was easily one of the more robust handling cameras that I’ve shot with in a long time. Regarding ergonomics, the Canon R1 ticks off almost all of the boxes a photographer would want while still coming in a little over 15 ounces lighter. This might not seem like a big deal, but when you pair the camera with longer lenses, like the RF100-500 F4.5-7.1 L, you’ll come to appreciate the weight savings.

The EOS R1 has buttons and dials just where you need them. Like the Canon EOS R3, this is a battery grip camera body with a thumb joystick for navigating menus and quickly adjusting your focus points without taking your eyes off the viewfinder. Also, borrowing from the R3 is the playback buttons at the bottom of the camera and the Mode button at the top plate instead of the tradition Mode dial. In fact, the biggest difference in terms of button layouts between the R1 and R3 is the introduction of a Rate button, which allows you to give your images a rating of 1 to 5 from the preview mode, and the Info button that sits just to the side of the On/Off switch.

On the side of the camera, you’ll find several I/O ports, including a LAN connection, a full-sized HDMI port, a USB-C connection, 3.5mm Mic and Headphone ports, and a flash sync port. For the purposes of this review, I didn’t use these in any meaningful way, as the goal was to test the camera’s capabilities as a photography-only device.

If you’re wondering if this sounds like it’s an incremental bump-up from the R3 you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking that. As I spent more time with the camera it was everything that the R3 delivered with some internal changes – most notably the dual image processors.

Protect Your Camera Gear

For years, here at The Phoblographer we’ve done tests on cameras, lenses, bags, computers, lights, and more. And we know that your warranty doesn’t always cover the damage. Plus, accidents can happen on set.

This is why we’ve created a Photography Care Program in partnership with Full-Frame Insurance. Now, photographers across the United States looking for extra security can get various protections to cover their craft. The Photography Care Program provides peace of mind; now you’ll know you can bounce back from a photoshoot gone awry, on-site or inside. We’re making it super easy to get it done, too! Better yet, there is coverage outside of the US and Canada when the photographer is traveling for short periods of time for business.

We’re able to do this through our partnership with Full-Frame Insurance, a company specializing in Small Business Insurance. Are you a Freelance Photographer? We’ll cover you. What about a freelance multi-media journalist? We’ve got you. The Photography Care Program will protect you.

Transform your focus from worry to creativity with the Photography Care Program. Whether it’s a light stand tumbling down, a telephoto lens shattering, or an unforeseen mishap, you don’t have to face the financial burden alone. Experience the freedom to capture stunning shots, knowing you’re protected. Whether you’re an amateur or a professional, secure your peace of mind – and protect your photography gear – with our affordable Photography Care Program today.

Ease of Use

If you’ve been using a Canon camera for any amount of time, the menus are very familiar. If you’re switching systems, you’ll be very happy to know that you can easily make the switch largely because Canon has made menu navigation extremely easy to navigate. At The Phoblographer, we have a two-screen menu test, and for all mission-critical settings, the Canon R1 passed the test. That isn’t to say that there aren’t times when you’d have to drill down a little deeper, like when finding the Eye-Control AF settings, but I was happy to see that most operations could be found with a literal two to three taps of the screen.

In the R1, Canon has answered one of the biggest critiques of the R3 – it brought over pre-shot capture for their Action Priority modes. Shooting a recent volleyball game allowed me to capture the action even when I mistimed a shutter press. This function also allowed me to dial in the specific sport I was shooting (Canon includes options for Basketball, Football, and Volleyball) and ensure that the autofocus was trained to People instead of Objects (like a ball).

Assigning subject recognition to the rear buttons also helped switch between people and animals on the fly, as was the case in shooting dogs and their humans at the park.

Focusing

In the previous section, I mentioned how Canon used subject tracking and focus as primary draws for this camera. They’ve had plenty of time to refine their focusing algorithms, and with the R1, they go so far as to say they’ve trained their focusing technology to better distinguish between people, animals, and things. This is all good on paper, but unfortunately, the Canon EOS R1 still can’t seem to detect people of color – even under the lights of a gym.

While shooting with the R1 and the RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 the camera struggled to keep focus on the intended subject even when the camera’s viewfinder had a visible blue box on my subject. Even more bizarrely, when given an option between a darker-skinned person, a lighter-skinned person, and the net, the Canon R1 thought that the net was my intended subject, even after moving my focus point furthest away from the center of the net.

While I don’t expect ANY camera to nail focus 100% of the time, I do expect a nearly $7000 camera to do better than this. If Canon or any other camera company wants to tout its prowess in sports photography, then at the bare minimum, it needs to be able to recognize people of all shades.

This performance changed when we switched to using the 35mm f1.4.

My opinion was truly galvanized after I took the camera out birding. Here’s my quick disclaimer: I’ve NEVER gone out birding before picking up this camera. With that being said, I found myself shooting more keepers with the R1, with the focus set to Birds even at distances over 200 feet. The fact that I was able to capture the woodpecker above from nearly a quarter of a city block away speaks to just how well this camera should be when shooting a volleyball game from less than 100 feet away. In our updated review of the Canon EOS R3 we said:

As of January 2025, no Canon cameras can achieve perfect and precise autofocus on humans with deeper levels of melanin in their skin when shooting in low light. Granted, the Canon EOS R3 isn’t the brand’s highest level camera. But still, Canon has had time to fix this and also address other issues such as adding in pre-capture mode. Still, we wonder why the brand’s cameras can find the eye and a little tiny black bird amongst trees yet can’t find a Dominican performing artist in a dimly lit venue.

Unfortunately, this is also true of Canon’s flagship – the EOS R1.

Image Quality

Canon delivers in terms of image quality when everything is in focus. I’ve always loved how Canon cameras render colors, and for someone who’s a bit lazy when editing, being able to make minimal crops instead of fully altering a RAW file’s color is why I want to root for Canon as a camera manufacturer.

The files themselves are quite large and do have a lot of latitude when working with RAW files which is great if you’re a retoucher or otherwise shooting commercial images. Again, I can’t speak well enough about the images this camera produces, but largely, it feels like this could’ve just been an update to the Canon EOS R3.

Canon EOS R1 Sample Images

The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.

Edited

Unedited

Canon EOS R1 Tech Specs

The following technical specifications were taken from Canon’s Website.

• Sensor: 24-megapixel Canon designed full-frame back-illuminated stacked CMOS sensor (compatible with Dual Pixel CMOS AF and Cross-type AF)
• Image Processor: DIGIC X (with DIGIC Accelerator co-processor)
• Effective Pixels Approx. 24.2 megapixels
• Screen Size Approx. 36.0 x 24.0 mm
• Viewfinder: OLED color electronic viewfinder; 0.5-inch, approx. 9.44 million dots
• Coverage Approx. 100% vertically and horizontally relative to the shooting image area (with image quality L, at approx. 25mm eyepoint).
• Focus Method: Dual Pixel CMOS AF Cross-type

Declaration of Journalistic Intent

The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:

• At the time of publishing this review, Canon is not an advertiser with the Phoblographer. In fact, since we brought all advertising efforts in-house in 2020, they haven’t advertised with us.
• Our reviews are constantly updated when new firmware comes out. So please expect updates from us in the future if Canon ever gets us a loaner unit. As it is, most of our product request emails to Canon were met with silence.
• The Phoblographer was not part of the initial all-expenses paid trip to test the Canon EOS R5 II that you saw so many YouTubers, influencers, and very few journalists on. As of a few years ago, The Phoblographer has turned down all press trips as a matter of ethics. As a result, Canon has paid for no part of this review of the Canon EOS R5 II. The exception to this is the long-term loaner units that we’ve had in our offices.
• I’ve been working with Canon for over 15 years. Typically, we get treated a specific way when they don’t like what we’re saying. And we often find it to be a mark against transparent journalism. We’ve called several brands out for this before: a big one that does this is Sigma. Peak Design and WANDRD have also done this in the past to the Phoblographer.
• None of the reviews on the Phoblographer are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do. Others don’t always make declarations.
• Canon did not loan the product to us. Instead, it was loaned to us free of charge by the editorial program over at Lensrentals. There was no money exchange between Lensrentals and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
• Canon knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know. We were the first publication to inform about several issues that we’ve seen from Canon before.
• Lensrentals sent the product to Phoblographer in NYC to loan the camera to us. Our home office is based in New York. We’ve long since returned it.
• The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
• In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information from us or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows.
• At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.